IOM Blog

So, you’ve just returned back from a conference excited to implement all your new ideas. However, when you walk in the office door, something happens that seems to zap your excitement. It’s commonly referred to as “the daily grind.”

You’ve been away from your office, and while you were gone, the sky didn’t fall, but the amount of emails in your inbox makes you feel like it did. Suddenly your enthusiasm to implement your newly discovered best practices falls flat. Your motivation has turned into a frenzied state of catch-up, and before you know it, those exciting ideas you once had are gone.

Don’t let this happen to you! There is a reason you went to the conference, and there are multiple reasons why you shouldn’t get sucked back into the daily grind. The most important thing you can do upon returning to your office is not simply checking off all the tasks you’re behind on, but is to make sure you hold onto your enthusiasm to implement new strategies and tactics. Here are three tips to help you keep that excitement.

1. Make a “Top Five” list.

Realistically you don’t have the time or ability to implement every best practice you learned. Within three days of being back in the office, take thirty minutes to review your notes and pick what you feel are the top five nuggets of wisdom from the conference you attended. To ensure this is a successful thirty minutes, make sure you can do this in a place where you will be uninterrupted. That may mean shutting your office door or taking a walk.

2. Create a timeframe for your “Top Five” list.

You can’t implement everything you learned tomorrow, although you may want to! After creating your “Top Five” list, set aside another thirty minutes to outline a realistic timeline for implementing these ideas. Prioritize your ideas and projects. Establish short-term and long-term goals. Some ideas can be implemented quickly, while others take time.

3. Share your enthusiasm with your co-workers.

Most of your co-workers probably did not attend the same conference as you, and the lessons you learned can be as valuable to them as they are to you. Set up a special lunch sometime during the week following the conference to share your “Top Five” list and brainstorm with your co-workers. Let them know these new ideas won’t just benefit you, but will benefit them and the entire organization. And most importantly, thank your co-workers for covering for you while you were out of the office. Chances are they would have liked to attend the conference as well. Let them know you didn’t just attend the conference for yourself, you attended it for the team.

Meghan Longenecker, IOM is the professional development manager at the American Academy of Audiology, the world's largest professional organization of, by, and for audiologists. Prior to joining the Academy, Meghan worked at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation on the Institute for Organization Management program. Under Meghan's leadership, Institute won “Gold” in the Association TRENDS All-Media competition in the category of social media in 2014 and “Silver” in 2015. Meghan served as an Institute faculty member teaching classes on social media and communications.